Hot runner with removable gate pad

1. A hot runner assembly for delivering molding material to a mold cavity of an injection molding machine, the mold cavity defined by a mold cavity insert, through a mold inlet defined in the mold cavity insert, comprising:

a manifold plate;

a nozzle extending through said manifold plate, said nozzle having a nozzle outlet;

a gate pad insert having an inlet end with an inlet opening and an outlet end with a gate aperture and a passage through said gate pad insert from said inlet opening to said gate aperture, said gate pad insert removably attached to said manifold plate and removable from the mold cavity insert so that said nozzle is received in said passage and said nozzle outlet is in communication with said mold inlet through said gate aperture;

a valve stem extending within said nozzle, movable between an extended position, in which said valve stem seals said gate aperture to prevent flow of molding material therethrough, and a retracted position.

2. The hot runner assembly of claim 1 , wherein said nozzle extends through a passage in said manifold plate and said inlet end of said gate pad insert is received in said passage.

3. The hot runner assembly of claim 2 , wherein said inlet end comprises threads and said threads engage corresponding threads in said manifold plate to removably attach said gate pad insert to said manifold plate.

4. The hot runner assembly of claim 2 , wherein said inlet end forms an interference fit with said passage to removably attach said gate pad insert to said manifold plate.

5. The hot runner assembly of claim 2 , further comprising a bolt received in said manifold plate to removably attach said gate pad insert to said manifold plate.

6. The hot runner assembly of claim 2 , wherein said outlet end is received in a recess defined in said mold cavity insert.

7. The hot runner assembly of claim 6 , wherein said gate pad insert has a flat end surface for sealingly engaging the mold cavity insert.

8. The hot runner assembly of claim 6 , wherein the width of said outlet end is less than the width of said recess to provide clearance between said outlet end and said recess.

9. The hot runner assembly of claim 6 , wherein said valve stem is movable between said extended and retracted positions without contacting said mold cavity insert.

10. The hot runner assembly of claim 1 , wherein said gate pad insert has an external annular flange abutting said manifold plate to maintain said gate pad in a square orientation relative to said manifold plate.

11. A gate pad insert for an injection molding machine comprising a manifold plate, a nozzle extending through said manifold plate and a valve stem extending within said nozzle movable between an extended position in which said valve stem extends through an outlet of said nozzle and a retracted position, said gate pad insert comprising:

a body having an inlet end with an inlet opening and an outlet end with a gate aperture, and a passage through said body from said inlet opening to said gate aperture;

said inlet end removably attachable to said manifold plate so that said nozzle is received in said passage through said inlet opening and said outlet of said nozzle is in communication with said gate aperture, wherein said valve stem seals said gate aperture in said extended position, wherein said outlet end is configured to be received in a recess defined in a mold cavity insert of said injection molding machine, the mold cavity insert defining said mold cavity, wherein said gate aperture fluidly connects to an inlet in the mold cavity insert, and wherein said gate pad insert is removable from the mold cavity insert.

12. The gate pad insert of claim 11 , wherein said gate pad is removably attachable to said manifold plate by inserting said inlet end of said gate pad insert in a passage defined through said manifold plate.

13. The gate pad insert of claim 12 , wherein said inlet end comprises threads and said gate paid is removably attachable to said manifold plate by engaging said threads with corresponding threads in said manifold plate.

14. The gate pad insert of claim 13 , wherein said inlet end is sized to form an interference fit with said passage.

15. The gate pad insert of claim 13 , wherein the width of said outlet end is less than the width of said recess to provide clearance between said outlet end and said recess.

16. The gate pad insert of claim 15 , wherein said valve stem is movable between said extended and retracted positions without contacting said mold.

17. The gate pad insert of claim 12 , further comprising an external annular flange configured to abut said manifold plate to maintain said gate pad in a square orientation relative to said manifold plate.

18. A system for delivering molding material to a mold cavity of an injection molding machine, comprising:

a manifold plate;

a mold cavity insert defining the mold cavity, the mold cavity insert having a mold inlet leading to the mold cavity;

a nozzle extending through said manifold plate, said nozzle having a nozzle outlet;

a gate pad insert having an inlet end with an inlet opening and an outlet end with a gate aperture and a passage through said gate pad insert from said inlet opening to said gate aperture, said gate pad insert removably attached to said manifold plate and removable from the mold cavity insert so that said nozzle is received in said passage and said nozzle outlet is in communication with said mold inlet through said gate aperture; and

a valve stem extending within said nozzle, movable between an extended position, in which said valve stem seals said gate aperture to prevent flow of molding material therethrough, and a retracted position.